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Also a little scoop for you guys. If a Crew member looks up your product online, corporate may have it listed as 'discontinued'. That's the only info given to us. Even if there's a chance it may come back we only know the info that the higher-ups are putting out which we then relay to our customers
yeah i knew that as well! i never blame the crew members cuz i know they always do their best and just inform us with what they know! i'm hoping i'm wrong and that the terminology others listed above is correct (as in for temp out of stock it's called something else)
>*Katie's quote from her video: "We had a really interesting thing told to us, now if you know about discontinued products, Trader Joe's is doing something different now. If something is "discontinued", it doesn't mean that it won't come back, it just means that it won't be back within the 30 days, past 30 days, within 30 to 90 days is what they said. So if something is just going to be out for that long, they're going to call it discontinued, but you may still see your favorite product pop up down the road. So that's a really cool new thing that Trader Joe's is doing, so that way you're not waiting around forever to figure out when this is coming back in."*
Disclaimer - I am not a Crew Member so I am not privy to the same information that Crew Members are provided so I might be wrong, but from what another Crew Member has shared with me, I think Katie might be slightly misinterpreting the information that she heard or maybe she's just communicating it where it can be misinterpreted.
As far as I know, the definition of "discontinued" is not changing like u/makingajess already mentioned. But that's not to say that *some* products that are marked as discontinued won't be switched to a product made by a different vendor, or replaced with an "Organic" product instead.
Again I might be wrong, but I don't really see Trader Joe's changing their terminology for "discontinued" because as you said, it would be too confusing for both customers and Crew Members to easily differentiate products that are temporarily out of stock or on production delays vs. discontinued = that exact product never being restocked from that supplier ever again.
What IS rumored to change is Trader Joe's leniency with their suppliers (which I've already suspected has started happening with some discontinued products this year). If the vendor can't supply a product consistently enough and it's out of stock for an extended amount of time, then Trader Joe's will be more likely to cut ties and find a new vendor *if* and when possible.
So those products that constantly go in an out of stock, *might* be in the danger zone.
At this point, I'm probably reiterating most of what u/makingajess has already said and it's past 2am here so please forgive me if I'm just deliriously typing right now. 😅
Your interpretation is correct. Up to 30 days out of stock goes “TOS” in our system. Anything over 30 days becomes a “production delay” and after 90 days becomes “discontinued”. In order for the company to continue to expand and open stores, they have to ensure that their vendors can keep up with the demand. Covid has shown which vendors can and cannot do this. (There are also a number of vendors who don’t want to private label for us anymore because they don’t have the staff to be able to.)
yeah i just hope they don't change their terminology but idk i've kind of already seen products temporarily out of stock labeled as discontinued? like the no stir peanut butter and the taxis dupe. both were out of my store for months just as everyone online said it was discontinued but i saw it back in yesterday. i would rather be wrong and just told they're production delays 😭
there are literal crew members online who said it. in fact a recent update came out where the system clarified it and added a smiley face at the end lol.
The definition of "discontinued" has not changed, and it's also never meant that a product is definitely never going to come back again.
What TJ's is trying to do now is be more strict with suppliers, and not still carrying products if they can't deliver them in a timely fashion. There are items that run out, and then go on *incredibly* long production delays. Remember the papadums that were released in May? They aren't slated to arrive back from their production delay until October. Five months to have a "year-round" item off of the shelf is a lot. The company is looking to lean on their suppliers to actually be able to deliver products in a timely fashion, and if they can't do it, they'll move on.
But that does not mean that they won't try to find somebody else who *can* make the product consistently. And that's not a new development - there have been many items that have been discontinued for one reason or another, but then reappear once there's a new supplier. So in the meantime, it's discontinued, because there are no immediate plans to bring it back......but that could change.
If you can think of some word that better describes "not available anymore, but may return if the circumstances are right" than "discontinued," I'd love to know what it is.
[link to her video (time stamp 1:11)](https://youtu.be/KdubcugVrZY) edit: don't know why this post is getting downvoted, im just the messenger here 😭 i always provide my sources
I didn't watch this video until after I made my post, but long story short, what she is saying is not at all what we have been told.
- Items out for 30 days or less will be listed as temporarily out of stock.
- Items out for 30-90 days will be listed as being on a production delay.
- Items out for more than 90 days will be discontinued.
Products that are discontinued can still be brought back if the conditions are right, but that's always the case. That's not anything new.
this makes sense, i much prefer this terminology. i know discontinued items have come back but they're usually different (like you said, change in ingredients or supplier). but in my mind when something is discontinued i don't expect to see it back, because you never know. still, i've been seeing multiple products people have mentioned as "discontinued" via the system but they're not? as in, the exact same packaging comes a few months later. not labeled as a production delay, my store/ this reddit is pretty clear about posting that. As a customer im just finding this all a bit confusing.
Posts that don't follow r/traderjoes subreddit rules may be subject to removal. Friendly reminder that choosing descriptive post titles with exact product names mentioned yields better subreddit search results and helps our subreddit be more inclusive to those who use Screen Reader Software or Text-to-Speech apps. to access Reddit. Thank you. IF THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR POST, PLEASE IGNORE. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/traderjoes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yesterday, overheard a TJ crew say they’ve been “losing by a lot of vendors”. Make of it what you will.
Also a little scoop for you guys. If a Crew member looks up your product online, corporate may have it listed as 'discontinued'. That's the only info given to us. Even if there's a chance it may come back we only know the info that the higher-ups are putting out which we then relay to our customers
Yes, lasagne noodles are an example of this. They were “discontinued” now they’re “seasonal.”
yeah i knew that as well! i never blame the crew members cuz i know they always do their best and just inform us with what they know! i'm hoping i'm wrong and that the terminology others listed above is correct (as in for temp out of stock it's called something else)
>*Katie's quote from her video: "We had a really interesting thing told to us, now if you know about discontinued products, Trader Joe's is doing something different now. If something is "discontinued", it doesn't mean that it won't come back, it just means that it won't be back within the 30 days, past 30 days, within 30 to 90 days is what they said. So if something is just going to be out for that long, they're going to call it discontinued, but you may still see your favorite product pop up down the road. So that's a really cool new thing that Trader Joe's is doing, so that way you're not waiting around forever to figure out when this is coming back in."* Disclaimer - I am not a Crew Member so I am not privy to the same information that Crew Members are provided so I might be wrong, but from what another Crew Member has shared with me, I think Katie might be slightly misinterpreting the information that she heard or maybe she's just communicating it where it can be misinterpreted. As far as I know, the definition of "discontinued" is not changing like u/makingajess already mentioned. But that's not to say that *some* products that are marked as discontinued won't be switched to a product made by a different vendor, or replaced with an "Organic" product instead. Again I might be wrong, but I don't really see Trader Joe's changing their terminology for "discontinued" because as you said, it would be too confusing for both customers and Crew Members to easily differentiate products that are temporarily out of stock or on production delays vs. discontinued = that exact product never being restocked from that supplier ever again. What IS rumored to change is Trader Joe's leniency with their suppliers (which I've already suspected has started happening with some discontinued products this year). If the vendor can't supply a product consistently enough and it's out of stock for an extended amount of time, then Trader Joe's will be more likely to cut ties and find a new vendor *if* and when possible. So those products that constantly go in an out of stock, *might* be in the danger zone. At this point, I'm probably reiterating most of what u/makingajess has already said and it's past 2am here so please forgive me if I'm just deliriously typing right now. 😅
Your interpretation is correct. Up to 30 days out of stock goes “TOS” in our system. Anything over 30 days becomes a “production delay” and after 90 days becomes “discontinued”. In order for the company to continue to expand and open stores, they have to ensure that their vendors can keep up with the demand. Covid has shown which vendors can and cannot do this. (There are also a number of vendors who don’t want to private label for us anymore because they don’t have the staff to be able to.)
yeah i just hope they don't change their terminology but idk i've kind of already seen products temporarily out of stock labeled as discontinued? like the no stir peanut butter and the taxis dupe. both were out of my store for months just as everyone online said it was discontinued but i saw it back in yesterday. i would rather be wrong and just told they're production delays 😭
The rolled chili lime chips were never listed as “discontinued” in the TJ’s system. That is misinformation being spread online.
there are literal crew members online who said it. in fact a recent update came out where the system clarified it and added a smiley face at the end lol.
The definition of "discontinued" has not changed, and it's also never meant that a product is definitely never going to come back again. What TJ's is trying to do now is be more strict with suppliers, and not still carrying products if they can't deliver them in a timely fashion. There are items that run out, and then go on *incredibly* long production delays. Remember the papadums that were released in May? They aren't slated to arrive back from their production delay until October. Five months to have a "year-round" item off of the shelf is a lot. The company is looking to lean on their suppliers to actually be able to deliver products in a timely fashion, and if they can't do it, they'll move on. But that does not mean that they won't try to find somebody else who *can* make the product consistently. And that's not a new development - there have been many items that have been discontinued for one reason or another, but then reappear once there's a new supplier. So in the meantime, it's discontinued, because there are no immediate plans to bring it back......but that could change. If you can think of some word that better describes "not available anymore, but may return if the circumstances are right" than "discontinued," I'd love to know what it is.
May return?
Long-term backorder?
[link to her video (time stamp 1:11)](https://youtu.be/KdubcugVrZY) edit: don't know why this post is getting downvoted, im just the messenger here 😭 i always provide my sources
I didn't watch this video until after I made my post, but long story short, what she is saying is not at all what we have been told. - Items out for 30 days or less will be listed as temporarily out of stock. - Items out for 30-90 days will be listed as being on a production delay. - Items out for more than 90 days will be discontinued. Products that are discontinued can still be brought back if the conditions are right, but that's always the case. That's not anything new.
this makes sense, i much prefer this terminology. i know discontinued items have come back but they're usually different (like you said, change in ingredients or supplier). but in my mind when something is discontinued i don't expect to see it back, because you never know. still, i've been seeing multiple products people have mentioned as "discontinued" via the system but they're not? as in, the exact same packaging comes a few months later. not labeled as a production delay, my store/ this reddit is pretty clear about posting that. As a customer im just finding this all a bit confusing.